


you lost

by heyvelrisa



Category: Just Roll With It (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kinda?, M/M, Sickfic, braad is a stupid little bitch baby, br’aaxi - Freeform, general arc 2 spoilers, maybe? - Freeform, mentions of like. electric shock and stuff, minor depictions of violence?, soft taxi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24949906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heyvelrisa/pseuds/heyvelrisa
Summary: Br’aad won’t come to bed. By the time Taxi realizes the reason why, it’s too late.
Relationships: Br’aad Vengolor - Relationship, Taxi the Tabaxi - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	you lost

**Author's Note:**

> br’aaxi gc on twitter go brrrr
> 
> warning for like,,, minor mentions of like electric shock and stuff? yeah
> 
> follow me on twitter for more content! @heyvelrisa/heyvelrisadumb

It was late. Too late for Br'aad to be awake. 

And yet, when Taxi awoke from his half-asleep state, the bed next to him was empty. There was a faint glow coming from the corner of their shared room; the inn they were staying in had been on the pricier side, but the beds were big enough for two people, and there was enough space in the corner of the room for a desk and a chair. From the gentle glow of the candle that was lit, Taxi could make out the shape of Br'aad sitting at that desk now, bent over a series of books and parchments. He craned his neck to peer out the nearby window; he could just barely make out the sprinkling of stars that were glowing in the night sky. He stretched and let out a yawn, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He slowly made his way over to Br'aad, taking a moment to admire his boyfriend in the hazy light. He studied the way his blond locks fell over his shoulder like liquid gold, his tattoos curling along his arms, his shoulders, his chest. He held in a sigh of longing at the sight of his broad shoulders and came around to the side of him so Br'aad could see him. The bard glanced up at him, giving him a soft smile before turning back to his books. 

Taxi nudged his face against Br'aad's as he hooked his leg over his waist, shifting so he was sitting in Br'aad's lap. Almost instinctively, Br'aad's arms went around his waist, and Taxi could feel himself begin to purr as he rested his head up under Br'aad's chin. His eyes fell shut. 

"Come to bed," he murmured, inhaling Br'aad's familiar scent. Br'aad reached up and began scratching behind his ear, and Taxi's purrs became deeper, more intense. Br'aad hummed contently. 

"Soon," he said, his voice soft, and in Taxi's sleepy stupor, he was taken aback by how gentle his voice was. It was rare for Br'aad to speak below a quiet yell, and the fact that he seemed to reserve it for Taxi made his heart flutter in his chest.

"I'm sure whatever this is can wait until tomorrow, love." 

Br'aad's chin brushed against Taxi's ears as he shook his head. "No. But I'm almost done."

"You sure?" Taxi mumbled, and Br'aad hummed. Taxi decided to take it as a yes and stretched his neck a little, curling into Br'aad and focusing on the steady feeling of his chest rising and falling with each breath, his heart thumping faintly in his chest. 

As much as he wanted to stay awake to make sure Br'aad made it to bed, he was so warm, and the lull of sleep was just too enticing. He dozed back off to the sound of Br'aad's soft humming, basking in the warm glow of the candlelight and the body beneath him. 

•••

When Taxi woke up again, it wasn't the quiet scratching of quill on pen or the humming of his half-elf companion that brought him out of his slumber. He was awoken by the soft glow of sunlight filtering through the window above him and a cold bed next to him. Br’aad must have carried him back to bed. He groaned and sat up, looking around the room. The candle at the desk had been snuffed, and Br'aad was nowhere to be seen. He must have gone down to breakfast, Taxi thought weakly as he stood up. The desk was still littered with papers and books. He made his way over to see if Br'aad had made any progress after he'd fallen asleep. 

It was taking too long for him to comprehend the words in the books he was trying to read in his his sleepy haze, so he moved on to shift the papers that Br'aad had been working on. There was one that caught his eye, one with more empty space in the margins than the others. He carefully pulled it out from underneath the rest of the loose papers, waiting a moment for his eyes to focus. When they did, the sight made his heart drop straight down to his feet. He raised a trembling hand to touch the symbol that Br'aad had drawn at different angles all over the page. The hourglass was all too familiar to him at this point. 

Ob'nockshai was back.

A shiver went down Taxi's spine as he dropped the parchment back onto the desk. He turned on his heel and rushed down to the tavern as quickly as his legs would carry him. Velrisa and Sylnan were sitting at the bar, chatting with each other, and Mountain was presumably asleep in his room, but Br'aad was nowhere to be seen. Sylnan looked up from his breakfast when he saw Taxi approaching. 

"How'd you sleep?" Sylnan was asking, but Taxi cut him off. 

"Where's Br'aad?"

Velrisa furrowed her eyebrows. "Didn't he room with you last night? You should know where he is better than any of us."

"He wasn't there when I woke up."

Sylnan playfully rolled his eyes, and Taxi fought the urge to recoil. "He's probably put taking a walk or something. He's perfectly capable of handling himself."

"You don't understand. Ob'nockshai is back."

Sylnan and Velrisa both went quiet for a moment, and then Sylnan laughed nervously. "How do you know that?"

Taxi watched Sylnan's eyes darken as he explained the things he'd seen, the papers strewn across the desk and the symbols Br'aad had drawn, all of them linking to Ob'nockshai in some way. "We need to wake Mountain and find him," he finished, his tail swishing behind him anxiously. 

Sylnan got up to retrieve Mountain from his room as Taxi returned to his own room to grab Br'aad's papers. He would be able to track Br'aad if he tried hard enough. He picked up Br'aad's scent, the one he'd been so lovingly studying the night before, and prayed to Nula that he was okay, that Ob'nockshai hadn't already made a corpse out of him. 

Between Taxi's ability to Wildshape and Velrisa's winged cloak, their trip was much shorter than it could have been. Taxi easily picked up Br'aad's trail and grabbed Mountain in his Eagle talons. Velrisa carried Sylnan, and the four of them flew low to the ground until the sound of shouting and sobbing sounded in the air. Taxi's heart sped up. 

The four of them broke through a clearing, and there was Br'aad, pinned down by an invisible force as Ob'nockshai stood a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest. Br'aad was yelling, his body jerking painfully as his tattoos violently flickered between being gold and purple. Ob’nockshai didn’t even turn to look when the party broke through the trees. He looked disdainfully down at Br’aad and mumbled, “Oh, look. Your friends have decided to show up.”

Br’aad laughed incredulously through his shocks of pain. “You lost!” he cried. “You lost the game!”

“Fair and square,” Ob’nockshai mused. There was a hint of amusement in his voice and written on his face. With all of the power he seemed to be exuding over Br’aad, there was no sign of exhaustion written anywhere on him except for the single bead of sweat that was trickling down his forehead. 

“Get out of here,” Br’aad grunted, and Taxi couldn’t tell if he was talking to them or Ob’nockshai, but he had decided that he was getting real sick of watching that stupid god stand there and watch Br’aad suffer, so he dropped Mountain onto the ground, probably a little more harshly than he should have, and raced toward Ob’nockshai, talons extended. Ob’nockshai didn’t give him as much as a sideways glance. 

“Remember,” Ob’nockshai was saying to Br’aad, “you can never truly get rid of me, my boy.”

And just as Taxi’s talons were about to make impact with his head, Ob’nockshai disappeared without a trace, and the air was filled with a final, agonizing scream from Br’aad before the forest went silent. 

Taxi flew right into a tree with the momentum he’d picked up, and his Wildshape fell away almost instantly. He grunted and held his shoulder for a moment, almost certain that it would bruise in a few hours, but then he looked at Br’aad again and the pain fell away. The rest of the party was already heading toward him, and Taxi was quick to scramble to his feet and follow suit.

Br’aad was still trembling, and his eyes were squeezed shut, his teeth gritted. He flinched violently when Velrisa set her hand on his arm to heal him, but he finally began to relax as the magic flowed from her fingers. 

“Wel, he was a real jerk, huh?” Br’aad croaked, letting out a weak laugh. Taxi looked up at Sylnan uncertainly, and the two locked eyes for a moment before looking back down at Br’aad. 

“Br’aad,” Sylnan said, his voice thick, “you cant just go out and do things like this on your own.” 

“Sure I can.” He smiled weakly. “I just did.”

“What made you think fighting god by yourself would be a good idea?” Mountain interjected, thick eyebrows furrowing. “I knew you were stupid, but damn, kid.”

Velrisa furrowed her eyebrows and elbowed Mountain in the side, but Br’aad was already ignoring them, looking over at Taxi instead, eyes slowly fluttering open. He looked so tired. 

“Hey, Saxi.”

Taxi had to resist the urge to look away from him. The pain in his face was almost too much to bear. His heart ached. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I figured I could handle myself.” He looked around at the party, then back up at Taxi. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

Sylnan laughed incredulously. “We woke up and you were gone, Br’aad. Taxi told us that Ob’nockshai was back, and— and I just—“ Sylnan frustratedly tan a hand across his face. “I can’t lose you to him. Not again. Definitely not permanently.”

Br’aad’s pained smile disappeared. “I’m sorry.”

“Let’s just get you back to the inn,” Velrisa cut in before anyone else could say anything. “You need some rest. I don’t know what he did to you, but you’re exhausted.”

“Just some shocking,” Br’aad said weakly, and Taxi’s heart hammered in his chest. If Br’aad couldn’t kill Ob’nockshai, then surely he couldn’t, either, but that didn’t make it any less tempting. 

“You’ll be okay,” Velrisa reassured him. She looked up at Sylnan. “Can you carry him?”

With that, the party began the steady trek back toward the inn, Br’aad on Sylnan’s back. When they returned, Sylnan handed him off to Taxi. “Bring him to your room.” Sylnan ran a hand through his hair, sighing frustratedly. “I’ll talk to him later.”

Taxi scooped Br’aad up in his arms and walked him back to their room. He glanced over at the desk when he entered, still covered with papers and books, and shivered. The weight of the papers he’d taken was suddenly much more noticeable in his pockets. 

He gently set Br’aad down on the bed and pulled the sheets up to his chest. Br’aad kept his eyes closed, and for a moment, Taxi wondered if he was sleeping. But then his eyes slowly opened, his gaze trained on Taxi’s face. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. Taxi gingerly sat at the edge of the bed, reaching out to cup his face. 

“You should have told us,” Taxi repeated. “You should have told me. We could have helped you. You know he’s too powerful on his own.”

Br’aad scoffed weakly. “He’s all bark and no bite.”

“No bite?!” Taxi scoffed. “Br’aad, look at you!” 

“I’ll be okay. Velrisa said so.”

“Yes, but what if we hadn’t made it there when we did? What would have happened then?”

“It doesn’t matter, Taxi. I’m right here.” He reached up to cup his face, and Taxi leaned into his touch in spite of himself. “That’s why I chose you guys to gamble. Because I knew you’d come, and I knew I’d win.”

Taxi looked down at him. “What was the game?”

“He called me stupid for coming at him on my own.” He frowned. “Seems to be the general consensus.”

“That’s a conversation for later.”

“Right. But he said he’d, y’know, shock me until something happened. And I said until you guys came. Because I knew you’d come before I ran out of time.” 

Taxi’s eyes softened. “Of course, but what if—?”

“No what ifs. C’mon. I’m supposed to be the stupid one.” He held his arms out, and Taxi slowly laid next to him so Br’aad could wrap his arms around him. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Taxi mumbled, tucking his head up under his chin. “And I’m here to help you, okay? We all are.”

“I know.” Br’aad buried his nose in the fur on top of Taxi’s head. “I’m scared Sylnan’s gonna yell at me again.”

“He won’t yell. He’s just worried about you.”

“I know.” Br’aad sighed, and then it was quiet for a moment. “Can you stay with me until he gets here?”

“Of course.”

And he did. They laid like that for a while, wrapped up in each other’s arms, and Taxi once again focused on the rising and falling of Br’aad’s chest, the feeling of his heart in his rib cage. 

He was fine. He was here. 

He was right here.


End file.
